Sports

Colorado State Rams roll to No. 8 seed in NCAA tourney

FORT COLLINS -- When seniors Pierce Hornung, Dorian Green and Greg Smith signed to play for Colorado State four years ago, they could only dream of days like Sunday.

No nail-biting, no wondering, no sweat, no worry.

The Rams knew they would be part of the NCAA Tournament. All that was to be determined was where and against whom. Those two questions were answered quickly after the brackets began to be revealed.

Colorado State (25-8) was awarded the No. 8 seed in the Midwest Regional and will play ninth-seeded Missouri (23-10) on Thursday in Lexington, Ky. The winner most likely will play No. 1 overall seed Louisville in a Saturday game.

It's a near return to the scene of CSU's NCAA Tournament appearance last year, a loss to Murray State in Louisville. But more than anything else, it's another benchmark for a program growing in power.

"It's great just to be part of the group of guys here," Hornung said. "I can testify to how hard the guys have worked to get this program going. To be in the NCAA Tournament and have the chance to make some noise there, it's quite a reward for how much work we put into it."

Said senior guard Wes Eikmeier, who began his career at Iowa State: "It's come a long way. This was an afterthought when we first got on campus. That's what the most exciting part about it is, seeing all of these people come support us and want to see their university and their program do well. We're going to go out there and try to represent our best.

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It's the third time in CSU history that the team has gone to the NCAA Tournament in consecutive years. But this time feels more sustainable than ever before with first-year Rams coach Larry Eustachy at the helm. If there's anyone who knows what kind of springboard two consecutive NCAA Tournaments can be when building a program, it's Eustachy.

"I think it's huge," Eustachy said. "You keep hearing that (CSU) name. I don't think we get (freshman guard) Joe De Ciman and I don't think we get Gerson (Santo) if we were where the program was five, six years ago. So this will only help. It helped us last year in our early signing, and this will only help in our late signing."

Almost no one associated with the Rams knew much about Missouri of the Southeastern Conference in the moments after the announcement, but Eustachy is familiar with Tigers coach Frank Haith from having crossed paths before. The Tigers finished 11-7 in the SEC, losing to Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament. Known for a high-octane, pressing style of play, the Tigers found things rocky down the stretch with losses in two of their last three games.

They have one of the nation's best point guards in senior Phil Pressey.

"I know they like to pressure and they like to trap," Eustachy said. "We're going to have to take care of the ball to have a chance."

As far as the No. 8 seed, Eustachy was fine with it.

"I can't question that," Eustachy said. "Obviously, that's where they felt we belonged. We've constantly been battling who we are and what we're trying to get to, so we've got to win."

Green expects to be at near full health by game time. The guard has been dealing with a sprained right ankle but said he will be ready. His first injured the ankle in the regular-season finale against Nevada.

"It's getting better. It's still a little sore," Green said. "We play Thursday, so I have enough time to rehab it as much as possible and get a little more mobility in it. If I can do that, I'll be fine."

Conference: In their first season in the Southeastern Conference after leaving the Big 12, the Tigers finished sixth and beat Texas A&M in the second round of the league tournament after a first-round bye. But the Tigers lost to third-seeded Ole Miss in the quarterfinals. Missouri was 17-0 at home, 2-7 in SEC road games.

Coach: Frank Haith is 53-15 in his two seasons at Missouri. The Tigers were 30-5 last season but as a No. 2 seed lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament to No. 15 Norfolk State. Haith was hired at Missouri after seven seasons at Miami (where he went to the NCAA Tournament once and to the NIT four times).

Scouting report: The Tigers are making their fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, which ties a school record (1986-1990 and 1999-2003).

Key stats:Like the CSU Rams, the Tigers rebound well. Missouri ranks third in the nation in rebounding margin (9.5), behind CSU (12.1) and Quinnipiac (10.4). ... Mizzou is the only power conference team with six players averaging double figures in scoring, and the Tigers' scoring average (76.7 points) is 17th nationally.

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